WASHINGTON — Nursing in the next 10 years will demand a larger, more diversified workforce prepared to provide care in different settings, to address the lasting effects of COVID-19, to break down structural racism and the root causes of poor health, and to respond to future public health emergencies, says a new report from the National Academy of Medicine.
Nurses represent the largest segment of the U.S. health care workforce, with nearly 4 million nationwide. Over the next decade, nurses will face many demands: caring for an aging population, responding to an increase in behavioral and mental health conditions, conducting research, and helping shape health care policy. To build a workforce that meets these needs, the U.S. needs a substantial increase in the number, types, and distribution of nurses across geographic areas, specialties, and care settings, says The Future of Nursing 2020 – 2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. There is a particular need for nurses who hold bachelor’s and Ph.D. degrees, as well as nurses in specialties with significant shortages, including public and community health, behavioral health, primary care, long-term care, geriatrics, school health, and maternal health.
“This is a transformational time for the field of nursing. While the pandemic has changed nearly every aspect of health care, the impacts on nursing may be the most profound, as demand for their skills is at an all-time high,” said Mary Wakefield, visiting professor at Georgetown University and at the University of Texas at Austin, and co-chair of the committee that wrote the report. “Policymakers and health system leaders must seize this moment to strengthen nurse education and training, integrate health equity into nursing practice, and protect nurses’ physical, emotional, and mental well-being, so they can provide the best care possible.”
To read the National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine's News Brief, please click here.
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